Sightings coming in of Kansas dog who went missing in New Waterford

A champion chow chow named ‘Lucky,’ from Kansas, who bolted from its handler in New Waterford Monday morning, is shown in this file photo. Darren McKinnon, president of the Cape Breton Kennel Club, said he’s that upset the dog is missing and says the dogs would be frightened and in an area where coyotes have been seen. He's been working and has been working non-stop to track Lucky down. - Contributed

NEW WATERFORD, N.S. —

A champion chow chow from Kansas that went missing in New Waterford Monday morning seems to be hanging around the River Ryan area.

Darren McKinnon, president of the Cape Breton Kennel Club, said two-and-a-half-year-old dog named Lucky was sighted on Lingan Road walking in the direction of the Lingan Power plant Monday at around 9 p.m. The latest sighting was at the water fence in River Ryan.

McKinnon became aware of the missing dog after a call from the Cape Breton Post Tuesday and immediately began searching. He said this dog would be terrified and they’re hoping no one chases him out of the area because he’ll just keep doing laps of this area.

“He doesn’t know he has flown from Kansas to Nova Scotia and been driven down from Yarmouth,” he said. “He just wants to find the kennel where he has lived for two years with 50 dogs. That’s what he’s looking for.”

McKinnon cautions people who spot the dog not to try to catch him as this is not an approachable breed. Anyone trying to grab Lucky will likely be bitten. He said many breeds would drop to the ground and let you pick them up, but this is not one of them.

He said they ask people to simply follow the dog at a safe distance and call the kennel club at 902-562-8873 or 902-217-7715 while doing so.

MacKinnon said he will take a bite, if he has to, in order to rescue this dog.

As of Wednesday, McKinnon still hadn’t spoken to Lucky’s owner and was simply concentrating on finding the dog, knowing this is an area where coyotes have been seen. He said he’s doing it for the passion he has had for dogs since a child.

“It’s all my life is,” he said. “There’s people who go out on a limb for children in bad situations, well I’m the K-9 Samaritan. Someone has to advocate for them.”

The public is helping. Since the Cape Breton Post broke the story late Tuesday night, as of mid-Wednesday afternoon there were 1,000 shares on the Post's Facebook page.

In an earlier story in the Cape Breton Post, Janet Burke, owner of Cross B Chows Kennels in Fall River, Kansas, appealed to the public for help to find her chow chow whose show name is "Happy Go Lucky Boy".

On Wednesday, she was happy to hear of the sightings, saying it’s difficult being so far away.

“With us clear down here in Kansas it’s difficult and we appreciate all the help from up there.”

“If I wasn’t so far away and could be there, I’d be there.”

Burke, a breeder of chows for more than 30 years, said her dog was in the care of Jo-Anna Parker of Yarmouth, who was handling him on her behalf for the Cape Breton Kennel Club Dog Show at Centre 200 in Sydney last weekend. Parker told her, as her dog was being loaded onto a truck to transport home Monday morning, he suddenly bolted.

Burke said anyone seeing Lucky should not run after him but squat down and call his name. He knows the word "cookie." and might respond to it. She said Lucky is microchipped.

Parker, 62, said she is back in Yarmouth but doing what she can from there. She hopes to be back in Cape Breton, possibly on Friday, to help search for the lost chow chow.